Deland Ousts Dr. Phillips In 6a

DELAND -- Deondrae Daniels heard the critics in December. How could he not hear the talk?

DeLand High was 5-4 and out of the state rankings in basketball because its new guards weren't getting the job done.

"They blamed a lot of the games on us, and we took it personally,'' Daniels said in the Bulldogs' locker room Thursday night. "We had a lot of people counting on us. We worked hard and got better.''

As he wiped sweat away, his smile told how much better.

With Daniels, John Grubbs and E.J. Gordon combining for 29 points from the backcourt, DeLand (18-7) used defense, clutch shooting and a raucous home crowd to beat Metro Conference champion Dr. Phillips 56-51 in a Class 6A regional basketball quarterfinal.

It was DeLand's second consecutive upset against a 20-win team, following a 67-47 dismantling of Oviedo in the District 3 final. The Bulldogs must travel Tuesday to Tallahassee Leon (21-7) but have a chance to host one final game, the regional final March 4, before their 800-seat gym will be replaced by a bigger facility under construction across Hill Avenue.

Dr. Phillips, denied by DeLand for the second consecutive year after state tournament trips in 1994, '95 and '96, finished 20-6.

"Their home-court advantage tonight was tremendous. Like the seventh game of an NBA series,'' Panthers Coach Theo McWhite said.

"They made some outside shots early, and it gave them confidence.''

Actually, it was Dr. Phillips that came out firing, making eight of its first 10 shot attempts to build leads to 9-2 and 17-9.

Daniels provided the boost DeLand had to have, however. In a span of less than two minutes in the second period, he drained two 3-point shots and scored nine points to spur the Bulldogs into the lead.

That margin grew to seven points, but the young DeLand guards again had to prove their mettle in the final minute.

Jeff Cowans, who scored 22 points for Dr. Phillips, had a leaning jumper, followed by a 3-pointer, to pull the Panthers to 49-46 with 1 minute, 30 seconds left. But DeLand's 6-foot-6 senior, Leonard Wallery (13 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots), responded with a fadeaway jumper. In the final 20.5 seconds, Gordon and Grubbs each stepped up and drained both ends of one-and-one, free-throw situations.